Piloting of go-karts and other, similar lightweight/racing vehicles is a profession from which many future drivers of professional racing vehicles are recruited, as well as a recreational pastime. As such, many modern go-karts can exceeds speeds of one hundred miles per hour, and various methods have been developed for decreasing the weight of go-karts while improving their performance, and while remaining within the bounds of what is permitted by various regulations.
For example, in a typical go-kart, the front axle is engaged with a steering mechanism for allowing turning of the vehicle, while the rear axle is engaged with the drive train and motor, to receive torque therefrom to turn the wheels. The axle represents a key portion of a go-kart frame, because the weight of the axle must be sufficiently heavy to retain the wheels in contact with the track, but sufficiently light to enable the axle to be turned/accelerated rapidly and to avoid adding excessive weight to the vehicle frame as a whole. Further, the axle must be sufficiently stiff and durable to withstand side impacts without becoming bent and/or warped, but sufficiently flexible to provide the vehicle frame with suspension characteristics suitable for the track on which the go-kart is driven.
No single axle will be suitable for every situation. Therefore, many go-kart drivers will travel with a set of multiple rear axles (e.g., seven shafts), each axle shaft consisting essentially of an elongate steel cylinder, and each shaft having a slightly different wall thickness. A thicker shaft would generally be used on a flatter track, where the weight and stiffness of the shaft would ensure that a maximum of contact is maintained between the wheels and the track, while a thinner shaft would be used on a less flat track, where the flexibility of the shaft would assist the suspension of the vehicle. At times, a driver may exchange axle shafts in the middle of a race if a selected shaft proves disadvantageous or unsuitable.
Purchasing and transporting multiple steel axle shafts can be cumbersome, and changing shafts, especially during a race, can be time-consuming. Additionally, independent of the wall thickness of an axle shaft, conventional shaft systems are subject to the limitations of steel materials. Steel is an unavoidably heavy material, especially when thicker shafts are required to provide desired suspension characteristics. Furthermore, a steel shaft will be permanently deformed by a substantial side impact, independent of the selected wall thickness.
A need exists for systems and methods that can enable a single axle shaft to be provided with multiple suspension characteristics (e.g., variable flexibility, weight, stiffness, and/or thickness), thereby enabling the axle shaft to be adapted for multiple types of track and racing conditions.
A need also exists for systems and methods that utilize lightweight, high strength materials, having a lower modulus of elasticity than conventional steel alloys, thereby providing axle shafts that safely withstand side impacts without deformation, provide desirable suspension characteristics, and are able to be rotated/accelerated more rapidly than conventional axles without adding significant weight to a vehicle.
Embodiments usable within the scope of the present disclosure meet these needs.